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Raising The Threshold For Trademark Infringement Protect Free Expression, Christine Haight Farley, Lisa P. Ramsey Apr 2023

Raising The Threshold For Trademark Infringement Protect Free Expression, Christine Haight Farley, Lisa P. Ramsey

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The First Amendment right to free speech limits the scope of rights in trademark law. Congress and the courts have devised various defenses and common law doctrines to ensure that protected speech is exempted from trademark infringement liability. These defensive trademark doctrines, however, are narrow and often vary by jurisdiction. One current example is the speech-protective test first articulated by the Second Circuit in Rogers v. Grimaldi, expanded by the Ninth Circuit, and recently restricted by the Supreme Court in Jack Daniel’s Properties v. VIP Products to uses of another’s mark within an expressive work that do not designate the …


[Quote] Hail To The Washington Commanders — And The Power Of The Trademark, Christine Farley Feb 2022

[Quote] Hail To The Washington Commanders — And The Power Of The Trademark, Christine Farley

Popular Media

No abstract provided.


Jack Daniel’S Highlights The Second And Ninth Circuit’S Divide On The Application Of The Rogers Test, Hannah Knab Jan 2022

Jack Daniel’S Highlights The Second And Ninth Circuit’S Divide On The Application Of The Rogers Test, Hannah Knab

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.


Brand New World (Parallel Session 1.B. - Trademarks), Christine Farley Feb 2021

Brand New World (Parallel Session 1.B. - Trademarks), Christine Farley

Presentations

By American University Washington College of Law, Texas A&M University School of Law, and University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.


Moral Judgments In Trademark Law, Ned Snow Jan 2017

Moral Judgments In Trademark Law, Ned Snow

American University Law Review

Under the federal Lanham Act, eligibility for trademark protection depends on whether a mark is sufficiently moral. The Federal Circuit has recently held this provision of the Act to be unconstitutional based on its interpretation of speech doctrine. The context of trademark law, however, refutes this interpretation. Indeed, speech doctrine appears to support this morality requirement. Nevertheless, there seems to be another reason that the Federal Circuit held the morality requirement unconstitutional: the judicial discomfort with morality serving as a basis for law. This Essay concludes that this judicial discomfort is unjustified in this instance. From both a constitutional and …


Protecting Fashion Designs: Not Only "What?" But "Who?", Julie Zerbo Jan 2017

Protecting Fashion Designs: Not Only "What?" But "Who?", Julie Zerbo

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.


Considering Trademark And Speech Rights Through The Lens Of Regulating Tobacco, Christine Farley Jan 2015

Considering Trademark And Speech Rights Through The Lens Of Regulating Tobacco, Christine Farley

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Many tobacco company trademarks, such as MARLBORO, are extremely valuable. But valuable trademarks are often vulnerable both to copyists and to parodists. Tobacco trademarks face the additional vulnerability of onerous public health regulations, which can limit their appearance and use. When tobacco companies challenge these health regulations they do so on the grounds that the regulations violate their First Amendment speech rights. The law that is applied in these challenges is well developed, clear and predictable. When tobacco companies challenge unauthorized third-party uses of their marks, the speech rights involved are dealt with in a distinctly different manner. Under trademark …


Considering Trademark And Speech Rights Through The Lens Of Regulating Tobacco, Christine Haight Farley, Kavita Devaney Jan 2015

Considering Trademark And Speech Rights Through The Lens Of Regulating Tobacco, Christine Haight Farley, Kavita Devaney

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Many tobacco company trademarks, such as MARLBORO, are extremely valuable. But valuable trademarks are often vulnerable both to copyists and to parodists. Tobacco trademarks face the additional vulnerability of onerous public health regulations, which can limit their appearance and use. When tobacco companies challenge these health regulations they do so on the grounds that the regulations violate their First Amendment speech rights. The law that is applied in these challenges is well developed, clear and predictable. When tobacco companies challenge unauthorized third-party uses of their marks, the speech rights involved are dealt with in a distinctly different manner. Under trademark …


The Protection Of Geographical Indications In The Inter-American Convention, Christine Farley Jan 2014

The Protection Of Geographical Indications In The Inter-American Convention, Christine Farley

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The international community is currently deeply divided over the appropriate level of protection for Geographical Indications (“GIs”). This conflict has recently come to a head in the negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP). GIs receive extensive protections within the European Union (EU) that go beyond international standards, while the United States is generally opposed to strengthening existing international GI protections.Given its current stance, it is remarkable that the US has since 1929 been bound by a little known international convention that ensures strong protection of GIs. Since that date, the US has been a member of …


Territorial Exclusivity In U.S. Copyright And Trademark Law, Christine Farley Jan 2014

Territorial Exclusivity In U.S. Copyright And Trademark Law, Christine Farley

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Currently, U.S. trademark and copyright law both adopt employ a regime of international exhaustion of rights with respect to parallel importation after the Supreme Court ruled in Kirtsaeng last term. This agreement belies the fact that these two areas of law have developed in nearly divergent directions and have resulted in faltering intellectual property and trade policies. Currently, interpretation of the first sale doctrine hinges on the particular legal characteristics of both trademarks and copyrights. When dealing with trademarks, courts ultimately focus on the source of origin, taking into account consumer expectations or, instead, focusing on the business relationship, if …


The Protection Of Geographical Indications In The Inter-American Convention, Christine Haight Farley Jan 2014

The Protection Of Geographical Indications In The Inter-American Convention, Christine Haight Farley

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The international community is currently deeply divided over the appropriate level of protection for Geographical Indications (“GIs”). This conflict has recently come to a head in the negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP). GIs receive extensive protections within the European Union (EU) that go beyond international standards, while the United States is generally opposed to strengthening existing international GI protections.

Given its current stance, it is remarkable that the US has since 1929 been bound by a little known international convention that ensures strong protection of GIs. Since that date, the US has been a member …


Trips-Plus Trade And Investment Agreements: Why More May Be Less For Economic Development, Christine Farley Jan 2014

Trips-Plus Trade And Investment Agreements: Why More May Be Less For Economic Development, Christine Farley

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Conventional wisdom -- but not empirical research -- maintains that strong intellectual property (“IP”) rights trigger not only foreign direct investment, but also local innovation. Thus investors seek, and developing countries compete to offer, the highest levels of IP protections. But evaluating the level of IP protection in any given country has become increasingly complex. A proliferation of bilateral agreements, such as free trade agreements (“FTAs”) and bilateral investment treaties (“BITs”), intended to enhance the minimum standards set forth in The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”), have created uncertainty about precisely what IP protections are …


Territorial Exclusivity In U.S. Copyright And Trademark Law, Christine Haight Farley Jan 2014

Territorial Exclusivity In U.S. Copyright And Trademark Law, Christine Haight Farley

Contributions to Books

Currently, U.S. trademark and copyright law both adopt employ a regime of international exhaustion of rights with respect to parallel importation after the Supreme Court ruled in Kirtsaeng last term. This agreement belies the fact that these two areas of law have developed in nearly divergent directions and have resulted in faltering intellectual property and trade policies. Currently, interpretation of the first sale doctrine hinges on the particular legal characteristics of both trademarks and copyrights. When dealing with trademarks, courts ultimately focus on the source of origin, taking into account consumer expectations or, instead, focusing on the business relationship, if …


Supreme Court Amicus Brief Of Law Professors In Support Of Petitioner, Abraham V. Alpha Chi Omega, Christine Farley Jul 2013

Supreme Court Amicus Brief Of Law Professors In Support Of Petitioner, Abraham V. Alpha Chi Omega, Christine Farley

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The Federal Lanham Act provides that injunctive relief, the primary remedy in trademark cases, is to be granted in accordance with the principles of equity. Expressly included among such equitable principles are the defenses of acquiescence, laches, and estoppel. Naturally, these defenses have become commonplace in defending against claims of trademark infringement. In the absence of a statute of limitations courts rely on the doctrine of laches, for example, to determine when trademark infringement claims have become stale. Our informal study of the district in which this case arises shows that from 2005 to 2011, nearly two thirds of answers …


Top 1% Files For Trademark Of “Occupy Wall Street”, Seth Dennis Apr 2012

Top 1% Files For Trademark Of “Occupy Wall Street”, Seth Dennis

Intellectual Property Brief

No abstract provided.


The New Hawaiian Model: The Native Hawaiian Cultural Trademark Movement And The Quest For Intellectual Property Rights To Protect And Preserve Native Hawaiian Culture, Nina Mantilla Apr 2012

The New Hawaiian Model: The Native Hawaiian Cultural Trademark Movement And The Quest For Intellectual Property Rights To Protect And Preserve Native Hawaiian Culture, Nina Mantilla

Intellectual Property Brief

No abstract provided.


Capturing Clouds: Intellectual Property Issues Within The Live Entertainment Production Process, Brian Knowlton Apr 2012

Capturing Clouds: Intellectual Property Issues Within The Live Entertainment Production Process, Brian Knowlton

Intellectual Property Brief

No abstract provided.


Best Buy Vs. Newegg: Who Owns “Geek”?, Seth Dennis Apr 2012

Best Buy Vs. Newegg: Who Owns “Geek”?, Seth Dennis

Intellectual Property Brief

No abstract provided.


Taking A Bite Out Of The Apple: “Appstore” Trademark Infringement Update, Amer Raja Apr 2012

Taking A Bite Out Of The Apple: “Appstore” Trademark Infringement Update, Amer Raja

Intellectual Property Brief

No abstract provided.


Logorama: The Great Trademark Heist, Rose Lawrence Jan 2010

Logorama: The Great Trademark Heist, Rose Lawrence

Intellectual Property Brief

No abstract provided.


King Kirby And The Amazin' Terminatin' Copyrights: Who Will Prevail?!?, Jay Goldberg Jan 2010

King Kirby And The Amazin' Terminatin' Copyrights: Who Will Prevail?!?, Jay Goldberg

Intellectual Property Brief

No abstract provided.


Judge To Inventor: You Can’T Trademark A Circle, Eric Perrot Jan 2010

Judge To Inventor: You Can’T Trademark A Circle, Eric Perrot

Intellectual Property Brief

No abstract provided.


Convergence And Incongruence: Trademark Law And Icann's Introduction Of New Generic Top-Level Domains, Christine Haight Farley Jan 2009

Convergence And Incongruence: Trademark Law And Icann's Introduction Of New Generic Top-Level Domains, Christine Haight Farley

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This paper demonstrates how problematic convergences between Internet technology, the demands of a burgeoning e-market and trademark laws have created myriad issues in international governance of domain names. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body that governs internet's infrastructure, recently approved a new policy that would allow it to accept applications for additional generic top-level domains (gTLDs). What ICANN contemplates is a uniform system to approve generic top level domains that is expected to have profound implications. Under this new plan anyone can apply for a new gTLD at any time and it could be literally …


2007 Trademark Law Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, Susan M. Kayser, David Jaquette Apr 2008

2007 Trademark Law Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, Susan M. Kayser, David Jaquette

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Big Boi, Dr. Seuss, And The King: Expanding The Constitutional Protections For The Satirical Use Of Famous Trademarks , Aaron Jaroff Feb 2008

Big Boi, Dr. Seuss, And The King: Expanding The Constitutional Protections For The Satirical Use Of Famous Trademarks , Aaron Jaroff

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Trademark Jurisprudence Of Judge Rich, Jeffrey M. Samuels, Linda B. Samuels Jan 2007

The Trademark Jurisprudence Of Judge Rich, Jeffrey M. Samuels, Linda B. Samuels

American University Law Review

For nearly forty-three years, Giles Sutherland Rich served as a member of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (C.C.P.A.) and its successor court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Judge Rich is widely regarded as one of the most influential jurists in the area of patent law—and rightfully so. Less well known is that Judge Rich also authored many significant decisions in the area of trademark law. Judge Rich’s opinions in the area of trademarks span the spectrum of trademark registrability issues and explore important issues of public policy. This Article reviews a number of …


The Sunset Of "Quality Control" In Modern Trademark Licensing, Irene Calboli Jan 2007

The Sunset Of "Quality Control" In Modern Trademark Licensing, Irene Calboli

American University Law Review

Historically, based on the premise that trademark protection is about consumer welfare, trademark law has allowed trademark licensing only as long as licensors control the quality of the products bearing the licensed marks. Ever since its adoption, however, this rule has been difficult to enforce because it hinges on a concept that is ambiguous and difficult to frame in a legal context: quality control. Unsurprisingly, the consequence has been inconsistent case law and much uncertainty as to what represents valid licensing. In addition, in the past decades, courts have proven increasingly reticent to strictly apply this rule and have declared …


2005 Trademark Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, Stephen R. Baird May 2006

2005 Trademark Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, Stephen R. Baird

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Why We Are Confused About The Trademark Dilution Law, Christine Farley Jan 2006

Why We Are Confused About The Trademark Dilution Law, Christine Farley

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

In the decade following passage of a federal right of anti-dilution, the biggest question in trademark law was how to prove dilution. This is a clear sign of something. Can no smart attorney, judge, or social scientist figure out what dilution is in order to prove it? Dilution has proven to be a "dauntingly elusive concept" for the courts. Even in the Supreme Court, nearly all of the questions from the Justices In oral argument in Moseley v. V. Secret Catalog were seeking to simply understand what dilution is.Unless they simply know it when they see it, other courts either …


Review Of The 1999 Trademark Decisions Of The United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit , Stephen R. Baird Aug 2000

Review Of The 1999 Trademark Decisions Of The United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit , Stephen R. Baird

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.